


First Apartment

by dreamersshouldknowbetter



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 17:25:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10791264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamersshouldknowbetter/pseuds/dreamersshouldknowbetter
Summary: A series of one-shots of Bughead in their first apartment





	1. Move In With Me

“Okay, I should go” 

“Do you have to?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Betty sighed and leaned in to place a quick kiss on Jughead’s nose before pushing herself up to a seated position and placing her feet on the floor, “I’ve got to go back to my place before work starts. I left my computer there.”

Jughead groaned, grabbing Betty by the waist and pulling her back into bed, “Just five more minutes.” he mumbled.

Betty laughed and rolled her eyes, “Juggie, you said that five minutes ago. And again five minutes before that. If I don’t leave now I’ll be late.”

Betty sat up once more, and this time Jughead rose with her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her neck. Betty leaned into the comfort, releasing a small moan.

“Move in with me.”

“What?” Betty laughed, turning to face him. Her smile faded to shock as she registered the look of seriousness on his face. “Are you - are you serious?”

“Why not?” Jughead grinned, “You practically live here anyway! And you know how much I hate it when you leave. Besides… isn’t this what people do when, you know, they’re in our position?”

“In our position?” Betty smiled at his fumbling, eyebrows raised in jest. 

“I just meant… I love you. And I don’t want to keep saying goodbye to you every morning. I want you to move into my apartment. I want it to be our apartment.”

Betty looked at his wide, puppy-dog smile in disbelief, “Okay. Okay let’s do this.”

“Yeah?” Jughead asked, eyes brimming with hope. 

“Yeah,” Betty smiled and leaned in, cupping his face in her hands and excitedly placing a kiss on his lips, “Yeah! Let’s move in together!”

Jughead grinned and tackled her back onto the bed, pinning her down and peppering her with kisses. “I love you so much right now it’s insane.”

Betty giggled, “I love you too. So, so much.” She practically squealed in excitement before kissing him once more. Suddenly aware of the time, Betty let out a laugh. “Well, I’m definitely going to be late for work now.”


	2. The Lamp

“What is that?” Jughead gaped.

“Don’t you just love it? I got it at a flea market!” Betty beamed at the gaudy lamp that had been placed on his coffee table. It was, without a doubt, the ugliest piece of furnishing Jughead had ever laid eyes on.

“Uh, yeah Bets, it’s great.” Jughead stumbled, “It’s just, don’t you think maybe it would look better somewhere else? Like the bedroom?” He couldn’t resist turning away and mumbling under his breath, “Or the closet?”

“What do you mean?” Betty’s eyebrows furled in confusion, “Do you… do you not like it?” Her face faltered. 

“What? No, no of course not!” Jughead tried his best to backpedal, “You know, now that I really look at it, it looks great here.”

“Oh good!” Betty clapped her hands together in excitement, “I can’t wait to show it off when we have that dinner party next week!”

Jughead’s eyes practically bulged out of his head at the thought. “The dinner party, of course…” He had forgotten all about their housewarming party. It wasn’t that Jughead was too concerned with appearances, but he knew some of his friends might be less accepting of the piece. Especially if Betty was going to boast about it as much as she was now.

He was at a loss. He couldn’t criticize the piece, they had just moved in together. If he didn’t accept the lamp she might think he wasn’t accepting her, especially after he insisted on keeping the majority of his furniture.

“You know, I was thinking about going back to the flea market this weekend and trying to find another one like it. Having two of them would really pull the room together.” Betty smiled at him, “What do you think?”

“Uhhh…” Jughead didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to insult her, but the thought of a second gaudy lamp was simply too much, “Look, Betty… don’t you think two would be a bit… much?”

Betty sighed at his response, appearing defeated. “You really don’t like it, do you? Just admit it.”

“I just… it’s not that I don’t like it… I just think… maybe…” Jughead visibly stumbled over his thoughts, trying and failing to find the words.

Suddenly, Betty began to laugh. She attempted to stifle it, but once she began it seemed nothing could stop her.

“I’m very confused.” Jughead stated, looking around the room as if it could provide him with answers as to her sudden outburst. “What on earth is happening?”

“Wow, I really got you!” Betty managed between her laughter. Jughead continued to stare at her in confusion, so she continued, “Oh c’mon Jughead give me a little credit. Even I can tell that this is the ugliest lamp to ever exist.”

“Wait - you don’t like the lamp?”

“Of course not! I mean, look at it! I bought it as a joke.” Betty moved closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, “You were very sweet trying to convince me you liked it though.” She leaned in and kissed him sweetly, an unspoken apology for her prank.

“Oh yeah?” Jughead smirked, happily accepting his reward.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re a terrible liar. But I love you for the attempt.”

“And I love you for not actually loving that lamp.” Jughead laughed, leaning in for one more kiss.


	3. The Dinner Party

Betty scurried around the living room, adjusting the throw pillows on the couch and picking magazines up off the coffee table.

“Jughead! Are you dressed yet?” She yelled to the other room, finding herself preoccupied with the cheese platter she had so carefully selected.

“Don’t worry, I’m good to go.” Jughead walked lazily into room, finishing up the final button on his shirt as he went. He paused to lean up against the wall, smiling as he watched his girlfriend move to and fro.

Betty turned around and spotted him, stopping to place a hand on her hip. “Amused, are we?”

Jughead moved across the room, grabbing hold of her arms and kissing the top of her forehead. “Very.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Coming!” Betty called out, turning to Jughead and giving him one last glance over. “Ready?” 

“Ready.”

Betty opened the door, and a squeal came from the other side.

“Betty!” Veronica practically lunged forward to hug her best friend. Pulling back from the embrace, she held out a small box, wrapped in silver paper. “For you. An apartment-warming gift.”

Betty happily undid the ribbon, opening the box to reveal a framed photo, taken in their high school days, of Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Archie sitting in a booth at Pop’s. Placing a hand on her heart, Betty sighed contentedly. 

“Thank you, V.”

“Aw great, was I supposed to bring a gift?” They turned to see Archie standing in the doorway, a goofy grin on his face. 

“Hey man, thanks for coming.” Jughead approached him, giving him a quick hug. “No gift needed.”

“I should have known the great Veronica Lodge would show me up.” Archie sent a flirty grin her way.

“It’s easy to show you up, Archiekins.” Veronica quipped, removing her jacket and making a move toward the couch.

Betty gave Jughead a knowing smile before following their friends into the living room. Veronica and Archie had been on and off ever since high school, and if her use of nickname was any indicator, they were definitely headed toward “on again”.

“The place looks great Bets!” Archie said as he looked around, “I should have known you moving in would spruce the place up.”

“You know it.” Jughead agreed, placing a hand around Betty’s waist proudly, “I didn’t even know what a throw pillow was before this girl came along.”

Betty laughed, “Oh c’mon it wasn’t that bad! But yes, I definitely made a few improvements.”

A beeper went off and Betty clapped her hands together, “Dinner’s ready! Come on everyone, let’s move to the kitchen.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Kevin?” Veronica asked.

“Oh, don’t worry” Jughead said, “He called earlier, he’s going to be a little late. He told us to start without him.”

Veronica nodded, getting up and moving toward the kitchen, Archie in tow. Betty began to follow, before Jughead stopped her by tugging at her hand and pulling her into a kiss.

“What was that for?” Betty blushed.

“For being you.” Jughead smiled, “For putting on this dinner. For saving me from my throw pillow-less bachelor pad. I love you Bets.”

“I love you too Juggie. Now c’mon, our friends are waiting.”


	4. A Rough Day

Betty slammed the door, sighing heavily before plopping down on the couch. 

“Rough day?” Jughead asked, coming to sit beside her.

“The worst. My computer crashed and I lost my entire presentation! So naturally my boss got mad at me for missing my deadline. And, to top it all off, Tim totally stole my yogurt again!”

“Ughh that Tim is the worst!” Jughead joked, quickly stopping when he saw Betty’s exasperated expression, “Sorry. Wrong time for jokes.”

Betty let out a groan, placing her head in her hands. Jughead reached over and massaged her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

Suddenly, Jughead jumped up off the couch, startling Betty.

“What are you-”

“Stay right there!” Jughead’s eyes lit up, “I have an idea.”

Before Betty could say another word, Jughead ran out of the room and into the kitchen. Betty slumped back into the couch, closing her eyes and wishing the day away.

After about ten minutes, Jughead came back into the living room, grabbing Betty by the arms and pulling her to her feet. She allowed herself to be guided to the kitchen. When she entered, all of the lights were off, and their table was decorated with candles.

“Jughead, what is this?” Betty asked as Jughead pulled out a chair and prompted her to sit.

“This is dinner.” Jughead smiled, uncorking a bottle of red wine and pouring Betty a glass. “Unfortunately, I had to put this together on short notice, so our main course tonight is reheated pizza. And for dessert we’ll be having slightly freezer-burned ice cream.”

Betty’s eyes began to water, and Jughead quickly panicked.

“Is… is it bad? Should I have put music on? Would you have preferred a bath? Or a movie? Oh gosh, Bets, I’m sorry it was a stupid idea I was just trying to cheer you up I -”

While he was talking, Betty leaned over, grabbing him by the face and interrupting him with a kiss. “It’s perfect Juggie. I love it.”

“I love you.” Jughead calmed, leaning in for another kiss. “I’m sorry you had such a rough day.”

“I’d suffer through a million rough days if they all ended like this.”


	5. A Good Morning

He awoke to the sound of music blaring. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and rolled out of bed, putting an old t-shirt on and shuffling out of the bedroom. The smell of bacon lured him to the kitchen, where he discovered the most beautiful sight he’d ever witnessed.

His girlfriend was dancing around the kitchen, singing at the top of her lungs, wearing his plaid shirt and a sinfully short pair of cotton shorts. She spun between the stove and the fridge, collecting ingredients and throwing them into an omelette. As she went to return the milk cartoon to the fridge, she turned and saw him, a laugh escaping as she caught him gawking. 

“Good morning sleepyhead!” She beamed, giving him a quick peck on the nose, “I was beginning to think I’d be eating breakfast alone.”

“I’d never miss a breakfast that smells this amazing. Besides, it’s kind of impossible to sleep through the music.” He smirked.

“Oops, guilty!” She winked. He laughed at her mock innocence, knowing full well that she had turned the music up on purpose, “Sorry babe, you know I can’t resist a catchy tune!” She reached forward and grabbed his hand, pulling him in a twirl. He laughed and grabbed her waist, pulling her close and spinning her around the room. He began to sing along to the song, loudly and off-key. She burst into a fit of laughter and joined in with him.

They continued to dance around the kitchen, so distracted by the music that they completely forgot about breakfast. That is, until the smoke detector went off.

“Oh no!” Betty flew into a panic, pulling her omelette off the stove top and dumping it into the trash, “Quick, crack a window!” Jughead instantly launched into action.

As quickly as it began, the moment of frenzy was over. Betty turned the music down and faced Jughead. “I’m sorry.” She pouted, “I really wanted to make a good breakfast. I wanted to properly celebrate our first month of living together.”

“Oh, Betty, come on, come here.” Betty slumped over and allowed Jughead to wrap his arms around her. “It’s just some overcooked eggs. It’s not a big deal.”

“I know…” Betty breathed heavily into his chest, “I just really wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh, don’t you worry - you definitely surprised me. Besides, the omelette isn’t the only thing you made! There’s always the bacon.” Jughead winked at her, plucking a piece from the counter and taking a bite. “Perfectly crisp, if I do say so myself.”

Betty smiled and blushed at the ground, “There are also cinnamon rolls in the oven.”

Jughead stopped eating his bacon mid-chew, eyes growing wide. “God you’re amazing.” 

Betty giggled at the compliment, her mood instantly brightening. “I think you’re pretty amazing too.”

“Now come on,” Jughead smiled, “Let’s turn the music back up and eat some more of this delicious breakfast.”


	6. Netflix and (Not So) Chill

“Popcorn’s done!” Betty announced, walking into the living room and placing the bowl down on the coffee table. She climbed onto the couch and tucked her legs under herself, leaning into Jughead’s body. 

“You ready for this?” Jughead asked.

“Heck yeah! I have to know what happens.” Betty exclaimed, prompting Jughead to hit play. 

The familiar title sequence began, and Betty squealed with excitement. Busy schedules had forced them to wait almost an entire week before they found time to watch the season finale, and she was absolutely bursting with anticipation.

“I bet you five bucks Dr. Varchez is the killer.” Betty said.

“I’ll take that bet.” Jughead smiled, “in fact, I’ll bet you ten that it was Detective Marney.”

“You’re so on - there’s no way it was Marney!” Betty laughed, and a deal was struck.

The episode went on, and with each twist and turn Betty was enthralled. 

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Betty found herself screaming at the television as the killer was revealed.

“Pay up babe, I totally called it.” Jughead smirked.

“It just doesn’t make any sense! Her alibi got cleared episodes ago!”

“Yeah, but she snuck into the station and falsified those documents.”

“What? When did they explain that?” Betty looked at Jughead, confused.

“Right after they-” Jughead stopped short, and Betty gasped.

“You watched ahead!” Her eyes grew wide.

“What? No, I - yeah okay, maybe I did. But just like, an episode. Or two..”

“I can’t believe you Netflix-cheated on me!” Betty proclaimed accusingly.

“I’m sorry it’s just - you were at work late and I had to know who did it! I swear it’s the only time I’ve ever watched ahead.” Jughead looked at her apologetically, “Forgive me?”

Betty pouted, arms crossed. “I suppose I can forgive you,” She began, “but you totally owe me ten bucks.”

“What?” Jughead laughed, “but you guessed wrong!”

“Yes, but you cheated, so all winnings are forfeited to me.” Betty proclaimed smugly. 

Jughead sighed dramatically. “Would you settle for a home cooked dinner on me?”

Betty smiled, basking in her triumph, “You’ve got yourself a deal.”


	7. The Last Box

"This is it!” Betty placed a cardboard box onto the counter, beaming at Jughead.

“This is… what, exactly?” Jughead questioned.

“The last box of stuff from my old place! Once it’s unpacked, I will be officially moved in.”

Jughead laughed, “Betty, you’ve lived here for almost two months now. We’ve hosted a house warming party for our friends. We’ve had your parents over for dinner. You even organized our bills last month! I’d say you moved in a long while ago.”

“I know, but with this box unpacked it will be officially official.” 

Jughead smiled at her insistence, walking over to pick up the box, “What’s in her anyway?”

“You know, I don’t have a clue.”

“Well, we’ve lived two months without it, so it can’t be that important.”

“Grab the scissors, we’ll find out!” 

Jughead pulled open the kitchen drawer, pulling out a pair of scissors and returned to the counter.

“Drumroll, please?” He asked dramatically, Betty quickly obliging and hitting her palms against the counter. Jughead expertly slid the scissors along the box’s seam, cutting the tape and opening up the top.

“Annnd it’s… pom poms?” Jughead reached in and pulled out the yellow objects, shaking them in Betty’s face. “Can I ask why you still have these?”

Betty swatted at him, eyes lighting up, “This must be all of my old stuff from high school!” She pushed Jughead aside, leaning over the box in excitement, “I can’t believe I forgot about all of this!”

Jughead raised his eyebrows, “You actually kept stuff from high school?”

“Oh course I did! These are our memories Juggie! Look!” She dug into the box and began pulling items out, “Our yearbook, photos from prom, and - oh! It’s the very first issue of The Blue and Gold!” Betty proudly pulled the old newspaper from the box. It had been carefully framed, deliberately preserved.

“Wow.” Jughead whispered, taking the frame from Betty, “that seems like lifetimes ago.”

They stood silently, both taking a moment to reminisce. 

“You know,” Jughead began, “The only reason I joined that newspaper was to spend time with you.”

“I know.” Betty smiled. Jughead leaned in, placing the frame ever so carefully on the counter before wrapping his arms around Betty’s waist and pulling her close. He kissed her softly, thinking of all the moments between that newspaper and now. 

Betty pulled away, a small smile dancing across her lips. “Happy official move-in, Juggie.”

“Happy official move-in, Bets.”


	8. A Cuddly Conclusion

“Babe, you’ve got to stop hogging the covers!”

“But I’m so coooolllllllddd.” Jughead whined, rolling over to face Betty, lips pouted. “If you want the covers back you’re gonna have to cuddle.”

Betty laughed. She never would have thought Jughead to be the cuddly type, but she loved it. He was constantly reaching out to touch her, placing his hand on her thigh or fiddling with the hem of her shirt. But it was when he was tired that he got really affectionate. In his sleepy mindset, his inhibitions would fall away, and all of his subtlety flew out the window. It was the closest Jughead ever came to acting intoxicated.

“Alright, if you insist.” Betty huffed dramatically, ensuring Jughead knew the great burden he was putting on her. She curled up in his chest, his arm wrapping around her shoulder and pulling her close.

“Mmmmm that’s so much better,” he mumbled into her ear, eyes closed as he embraced the comfort she brought. “You know Bets, I’m so happy you moved in.” The thought came out quietly, a murmur that almost didn’t get spoken. “This has been the best two months of my entire life. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, my sleepy bug.” Betty laughed at his sleepy stupor, knowing he wouldn’t remember this conversation in the morning.

“Hey Bets?” Jughead whispered lazily.

“Yes, Juggie?”

“Let’s get married, okay?”

“Someday, Jughead. Someday.” Betty whispered, Jughead already drifting off into a peaceful slumber.


End file.
